Law firm Rechtsanwälte Steinhöfel Announces the Retraction of Erroneous Information Published by a German Press Agency Related to EU Sanctions Against the Sister of Businessman Alisher Usmanov

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hamburg-based law firm Rechtsanwälte Steinhöfel, representing Ms. Gulbakhor Ismailova, announces that Germany’s leading press agency dpa has withdrawn an erroneous publication claiming that Ms. Gulbakhor Ismailova, sister of Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov, was the owner of the famous Dilbar yacht.

The initial report, published in 2022, was based on statements from the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), which were later. These allegations not only fueled inaccurate media reports but were also used by the Council of the European Union to justify sanctions against Ms. Ismailova, as well as by German authorities to conduct searches on the Dilbar.

Following a cease-and-decist-letter from Rechtsanwälte Steinhöfel, the BKA deleted its tweets, which contained the false factual assertion. In German press law, reports from government bodies and press agencies (so-called privileged sources) enjoy a liability privilege, allowing journalists to use agency reports in their media coverage without verifying the accuracy of each piece of information.

After being informed about the withdrawal of the BKA's statements, the dpa news agency recommended the immediate removal of its corresponding dispatch. On February 17 and 18, 2025, numerous German media outlets, amongst them Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Die Zeit and Süddeutsche Zeitung deleted articles associating Ms. Ismailova with the ownership of the Dilbar. Various press organizations, not only removed the false information but also signed cease-and-decist-declarations containing contractual penalties not to republish it.

“This outcome highlights a broader issue regarding the European institutions' reliance on media reports as judicial evidence and basis for their sanction decisions,” commented Joachim Steinhöfel, who represents Mrs. Ismailova and Mr. Usmanov in media matters. “This practice leads to a vicious cycle where the courts of the European Union allow the Council of the European Union to cite the media to justify sanctions, and the media, in turn, use the justification of the sanctions—based on their own coverage—as a privileged source. Such a mechanism runs counter to the fundamental principles of the rule of law.”